I've read two stories of underage dangerous condition driving on this blog and as a parent myself now it kind of boggles the mind. But we really did grow up that way, EXCEPT Dad must have realized I was not made of the same stuff as my siblings because I have no driving/flying experience at all before 16.
I was reminded though of an incident on the way home from St Catherine's one day. We were all standing in the back of the van as usual, trying to keep our balance as Dad took the turns. We habitually gave John's classmate (sorry - name?) a ride home and he lived on the little street after the turn at Stoney Creek called Kramer Ave.
It's just a block long and it rejoins Friedensberg Ave again after the block. So Dad stops and the friend gets out. Then Dad would like to merge onto Friedensberg Ave without stopping if possible. It was always the responsibility of the person in the passenger seat (the only other seat besides the driver) to look out on the right and give the all clear sign. Since John was no more than 8th grade, william couldn't have been more than 4th. It may have been 3rd or 2nd. At any rate, William saw a car coming and hemmed and hawed a little bit as Dad is getting ready to emerge from the side street. That was enough of a delay to cause us to crash into the car, causing some denting I think.
Dad yelled at William for not being more perfectly clear and fast with his wingman job, but seriously, who pulls out trusting a 7 to 9 year old?
That post was written by me, Jessica, not John though it looks that way. And I think John's friend was Richard Pettit which came to me the second I hit "send"
ReplyDeleteI was not in the van when this accident occurred,.. and I suspect Danny Pettit might not have been in the van that day either. Dad liked to zoom down Cramer Street to beat the school bus or any other excuse... I think I might have already started High School by the time this happened which would mean Danny would be in High School too.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you can't trust your kids...
But would you have been in the van in High School? I think you were at St Catherines.... I remember my reaction at the time was: I'm sure glad I wasn't in the front seat making that call. And how come this is William's fault?
ReplyDeleteI know, years late...but I was re-reading some of these stories and I thought your friend's name who lived on Kramer Street might have been a Petit. Laura Petit in my class lived on that street. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteOh, now I see Danny Petit was identified. Never mind :)
ReplyDelete